LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was up 0.65% at 18,994.65 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, as Rotork led the market higher.
The industrial flow control manufacturer was on the front foot after saying it had made good progress, despite order intake and revenues dropping in the first half.

Meggitt pushed higher as it delivered better-than-expected half-year top-line growth on the back of "robust" growth in both civil original equipment and defence, while Spirent Communications climbed after analysts at Barclays raised their target price for the stock from 153p to 159p and increased their second half earnings estimates by 1p to 14p per share.

Down at the other end of the index, Sirius Minerals tumbled after the company said it had decided to suspend the proposed offer by its subsidiary of $500m of senior secured notes due in 2027 due to "current market conditions".

The bond sale needs to be completed in order for Sirius to secure a credit line from JPMorgan to finish the construction of its Woodsmith mine in North Yorkshire.

Iron pellet specialist Ferrexpo was also lower as analysts at Barclays downgraded their recommendation on the stock to 'equalweight', citing a myriad of factors on both the demand and supply side.

Intu Properties continued to fall after The Times reported on a note from Jefferies which said that real estate executives "aren't so much asleep at the wheel but suffering from collective narcolepsy" and added that the company's three-year incentive plans "don't look profitable, nor should they be".

Computacenter slipped as analysts at Berenberg cut their rating on the stock from 'buy' to 'hold', stating that upgrades were now unlikely given that its newly acquired US business FusionStorm is underperforming.

Finally, shares of Provident Financial edged lower as analysts at Shore Capital reiterated their 'hold' rating, stating that "while there appear to be plenty of opportunities available, these need to be set against a challenging regulatory and economic backdrop".

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,994.65 0.65%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Rotork (ROR) 310.40p 8.57%
Rank Group (RNK) 158.00p 5.76%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 597.00p 4.99%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 476.60p 4.79%
Meggitt (MGGT) 594.40p 4.06%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 216.00p 3.75%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 164.80p 3.52%
Premier Oil (PMO) 73.14p 3.36%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 488.80p 3.25%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 103.00p 3.10%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Sirius Minerals (SXX) 10.80p -26.03%
Serco Group (SRP) 138.90p -2.87%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 228.10p -2.52%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 303.80p -2.32%
Intu Properties (INTU) 39.16p -2.12%
Computacenter (CCC) 1,422.00p -1.93%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 101.18p -1.86%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 143.80p -1.64%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,998.00p -1.58%
Provident Financial (PFG) 395.30p -1.57%

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE